baldwin. let me explain this, four days away w, four days from potentially a u.s. default. at this late stage in the game here, republicans ramped up demands for raising the debt ceiling. the demands deemed not starters from the president, hard line house republicans, they are the ones demanding congress agree to pass a balanced budget amendment, not just vote on the thing, but approve it by the end of the year or shortly thereafter. so, late this afternoon or this evening, we will get a vote on the debt reduction plan that includes that demand, it's a redraft of the boehner plan that failed last night. here's something else -- i have to tell you right now here, this has to do with the president. he reemerged into the spotlight and is saying the two sides here really aren't too terribly far apart and the deal can be done by the august 2nd, tuesday

deadline. let's listen to the president, this is when he spoke around 10:30 this morning. let's listen. >> good morning, everybody. i want to speak about the ongoing and increasingly urgent efforts to avoid default and reduce our deficit. right now, the house of representatives is still trying to pass a bill that the majority of republicans and democrats in the senate have already said they won't vote for. it's a plan that would force us to relive this crisis in just a few short months, holding our economy captive to washington politics once again. in other words, it does not solve the problem, and it has no chance of becoming law. what's clear now is that any solution to avoid default must be bipartisan, it must have the support of both parties that were sent here to represent the american people. not just one faction. it will have to have the support

of both the house and the senate, and there are multiple ways to resolve this problem. senator reid, a democrat, has introduced a plan in the senate that contains cuts agreed upon by both parties. senator mcconnell, a republican, offered a solution that could get us through this. there are plenty of modifications we can make to either of these plans in order to get them passed through both the house and the senate and would allow me to sign them into law, and today i urge democrats and republicans in the senate to find common ground on a plan that can get support from both parties in the house, a plan that i can sign by tuesday. keep in mind, this is not a situation where the two parties are miles apart. we're in rough agreement about how much spending can be cut responsibly as a first step toward reducing our deficit. we agree on a process where the next step is a debate in the

coming months on tax reform and entitlement reform, and i'm ready and willing to have that debate, and if we need to put in place some kind of mechanism to support these reforms, i'll support that too, if it's done in a smart and balanced way, so there are plenty of ways out of this mess, but we are almost out of time. we need to reach a compromise by tuesday so that our country will have the ability to pay its bills on time, as we always have, bills that include monthly social security checks, veterans benefits, and the government contracts we've signed with thousands of businesses. keep in mind, if we don't do that, if we don't come to an agreement, we could use our country's aaa credit rating. not because we didn't have the capacity to pay our bills, we do, but because we didn't have a aaa political system to match our aaa credit rating, and make no mistake, for those who they

say oppose tax increases on anyone, a lower credit rating would result, potentially, a tax increase on everyone on their mortgages, their car loans, their credit cards, and that's inexcusable. there are a lot of crises in the world that we can't always predict or avoid, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, terrorist attacks. this isn't one of those crises. the power to solve this is in our hands, and on a day when we've been reminded how fragile the economy already is, this is one burden we can lift ourselves. we can end it with a simple vote, a vote that democrats and republicans have been taking for decades, a vote that the leaders in congress have taken for decades. it's not a vote that allows congress to spend more money. raising the debt ceiling simply gives our country the ability to pay the bills that congress has

already racked up. i want to emphasize that. the debt ceiling does not determine how much more money we can spend. it simply authorizes us to pay the bills we already have racked up. it gives the united states of america the ability to keep its word. now, on monday night, i asked the american people to make their voices heard in this debate, and the response was overwhelming, so please, to all the american people, keep it up. if you want to see a bipartisan compromise, a bill that can pass both houses of congress and that i can sign, let your members of congress know. make a phone call, accepted an e-mail, tweet, keep the pressure on washington, and we can get past this. and for my part, our administration will be continuing to work with democrats and republicans all weekend long until we find a solution. the time for putting party first is over. the time for compromise on

behalf of the american people is now. and i'm confident that we can solve this problem. i'm confident that we will solve this problem. for all the intrigue and all the drama that's taking place on capitol hill right now, i'm confident that common sense and cooler heads will prevail. as i said earlier, we are now running out of time. it's important for everybody to step up and show the leadership that the american people expect. thank you. >> so there you have it. that was president obama speaking just this morning, and i want to update you now, just down the road from the white house along pennsylvania avenue, you have capitol hill. we told you about the vote in the house and the redraft of the boehner plan that failed last night. well, over in the senate, democratic leader harry reid has scheduled a vote to take place sunday morning, 1:00 a.m. on his part of the crisis. we have a lot to tell you.

straight to bill nelson, i hope you've had good sleep. sounds like you have a long weekend, late nights ahead of you, sir. let me begin with what we heard from the president, he talks about common ground and you heard him say the two sides are not far apart as they seem. a, is that your take, is that your read? and b, what would the bare bones plan that could pass by tuesday, what would that look like? >> the answer to the first question is yes, and the answer to the second question is it's right under our nose. you take a combination of the house boehner plan, the senate majority reid plan, and the senate minority leader mcconnell plan, and you put them together, and at the end of the day, that's what's going to end up passing, and in it, it's going

to have that commission or committee that will comprise the big grand bargain, which is ultimately a $4 trillion plan that will come back to each house not amendable, an up or down vote, and i hope that we can pass something like that so we can get not only the debt ceiling increased, which we have to right now, but we can really do some serious deficit reduction. >> but quickly, if that's what would happen, would it then not have in it the two vote -- the two votes that speaker boehner has in his plan? >> that's probably, at the end of the day, what is going to be the clencher. >> okay. >> but it's going to be a clencher that will have the senator mcconnell provision, which is there's a resolution of disapproval, so, in effect, when the president raised the debt ceiling, it's not going to be disapproved.

>> okay. >> and that's the parliamentary machinations that go on. >> the democratic plan being offered by senator reid is near as i can tell here, would give the republicans the two things they have demanded all along, you have one, spending cuts equal to or greater to any increase in the debt limit, and number two, no new taxes on anyone. has your side, senator nelson, given away the store and still can't get a deal here thus far? >> well, that's harry reid's first step. his second step, which is a part of his plan as well, is a overall committee that is bipartisan that then their work product comes back to the senate and the house for an up or down vote, and that is when you get the serious deficit reduction that you get, not only in spending cuts, but you get revenue increases, which probably is going to be done in

the way of taking away tax preferences, revising the entire tax code by lowering the tax rate. that's a win-win for everybody. >> here's what americans want to know. they want to know will this thing get done in time, will it be done by tuesday? >> and the answer's yes. >> yes, yes, it will be finished. senator bill nelson of florida, thank you so much. we'll be watching all the machinations and votes through the weekend on capitol hill. senator, thank you, and now this. if you come in here and do something that's kind of out of the ordinary, i'm going to key on that, and that's pretty much what i did with this kid. >> "this kid" is this guy. an awol muslim-american soldier and what he's accused of doing and wanting to do is frightening. coming up, assorted plans investigators say he had to kill his fellow troops.

in waco, texas, where naser abdo has made his appearance in court. call her.

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unlike fish oil, megared softgels are small and easy to swallow with no fishy smell or aftertaste. try megared today. fort hood texas averting a potential attack and catastrophe just this week. an awol army private who authorities say admits plotting an attack on fort hood soldiers. more on that in a minute, here. first, a federal magistrate ordered naser abdo to be held without bond. he's charged with one federal count of possession of a destructive device. the muslim-america was arrested yesterday by a same military base where another muslim soldier wept on a deadly

shooting spree in 2009. an alert gun store clerk alerted authorities. while the story was breaking yesterday, i spoke to that very clerk. here's what he told me. >> after the young man left the store, we discussed the purchase amongst ourselves and the manager, who's a wonderful woman, was just concerned that something might be afoot. she was uncomfortable with it, so i told her if it would help put her mind at ease, that i would call one of the lieutenants that i know at the p.d. >> cnn's ed lavindary in waco, texas, with me. i do want to talk about you're inside the federal courthouse when abdo made his federal appearance. you were tweeting up a storm this afternoon, nine u.s. marshals in there, and it took

two of them to sort of get this guy to stand up when he wouldn't stand when the judge walked in. >> you know, quite honestly, weren't expecting much outside of a simple initial appearance, kind of a routine thing that happens when someone is arrested and brought into a criminal court, so i was expecting something rather routine. we saw abdo walk in, he was wearing a solid white jump suit, feet were shackled as well, heavy law enforcement present inside the courtroom today. more than in the past, but given the nature of the charges, not altogether surprising, nine u.s. marshals, abdo sat down before the judge walked in, reading through some paperwork. everybody stands up before the judge walks in. abdo refused. two u.s. marshals told him repeatedly, stand up, stand up. he refused. the marshals yanked him up, forced him to stand up. >> isn't he, ed, we mentioned,

he's facing one count of possession of a destructive device. isn't he already facing a charge back when he was in fort campbell, kentucky, and isn't he still sitting in killeen jail? >> he is. he was whisked out of here in a small caravan, in a dark van, he is facing those charges. remember, he had gone through that conscientious objector issues, he was granted that, but then authorities had discovered child pornography on his computer. he was being court marshalled for that, that's when he went awol and turned up here in the killeen, texas, area weeks later. he's being held without bond because of those issues. we asked a federal official in texas today if other charges would be filed against him related to the case in killeen, we were told that would be a safe assumption to make. >> okay, we'll look to that. in the meantime, i have to get

to this astute gun store clerk who you got to meet today. let's play this piece of sound, then we'll talk about him. this is greg ebert here who saved the day. listen. >> he selects the six canisters, brings them to the counter, sets them down, then asks kathy, what's smokeless powder. well, hello, why are you buying this if you don't know where it is? >> thank goodness he picked up the phone eventually and called police. >> you know, what i found amazing, obviously, a lot more questions and authorities aren't really kind of opening everything up to us here at this point, but mr. ebert told me he never got abdo's name. he said i didn't give the police much to go on, gave a description, name of the cab company, that sort of thing. within 24 hours they were able to track abdo down. how that came about, we haven't got a whole lot of answers to.

but when they showed up to his hotel room, about a mile and a half away from the gun shop, that's where authorities discovered the bomb-making devices, pressure cookers, and they say in the affidavit that was released a short while ago in texas, he had plans of taking the pressure cookers, shrapnel, and gun powder and take that to an unspecified restaurant where soldiers around fort hood like to hang out, and according to authorities abdo told them the intention was to explode the pressure cookers in the restaurant. >> he said he had enough materials to make not just one, but two bombs. unbelievable, ed, thank you so much. coming up, we're going to stay in texas for this one. wow, the lone star state starving for rain. in fact, the drought in texas not only worse on record, folks this is worse than the dust bowl back in the '30s. there is hope on the horizon in

this tropical storm. we'll check in with chad in a moment. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. bert tropical storm bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas.

i want to share some more pictures we have rounded up for you. this is from the drought in texas. it is so hot, it is so dry across every inch of the state, conditions are worse right now than they were during the dust bowl years, chad was talking about that just yesterday. you can see these pictures, it shows the devastation. i don't even know what that's a skeleton of, but it shows you how dry and horrible it is. farmers usually plant wheat at the end of the summer, but the ground is so dry, that's looking unlikely. fish, they need water, they are

dying. ponds evaporate, cattle are sold at a loss. this is likely to translate into higher food prices for us. across texas, many houses are shifting on their foundations because the soil is so dry, and, in fact, in some cases foundations have sunk more than five inches. listen to this home owner's story. >> sank even more since the drought. cracked. front door locks i had changed out a month and a half ago, now the front door won't lock again because it's sunk down. there are big cracks in the ground where there were just little cracks. it's just getting worse. >> crunching along there. if that isn't enough, the drought has fuelled a grasshopper invasion. texas farmers spray, but the pests keep coming back according to this farmer. >> about ten days ago, we sprayed, and probably the crop of grasshoppers that are here

now have been since then. >> the farmers are saying if there's good news, not much left for the grasshoppers to eat, but any rain, you know this, is very much a welcome in texas. chad myers has been tracking tropical storm don, and what will that take, 15 inches or something to do that, but at least they are getting -- i see it, moving closer and closer. >> they are getting some. a lot of crops are a complete loss. they are not going to come back. you may not get the winter wheat in in some spots as we're talking about here. and the rainfall from don is almost in the southern half of the storm, so if it's going to make landfall somewhere north of south padre island, most is going to be brownsville and southward, but there are a few showers up into houston and corpus christi right now, and that's just the tropical moisture being thrown around. but you notice, there's the storm, there's corpus, that

would be brownsville, most of the cloud cover will invade northern mexico, not much more texas really at all, but there you see just a couple of pop-ups, and it doesn't take much. if you can get the humidity a little bit higher in the atmosphere, the ground is so hot, the air is so hot, that air wants to go up and rising air will make thunderstorms, it always, always will. here's the track from corpus to about brownsville. it will make landfall in a lovely place, one of my favorite beaches in the entire country that very few people have heard about. south of corpus, padre island. not south padre where the kids go for spring break. this is padre island, not a building in sight. there are no condos, no hotels, there are signs every once in awhile that says don't get stuck in the sand if you're driving because it will cost a couple hundred bucks to get out of there. this is not the way to south

padre. corpus christi down to brownsville, total rainfall, some areas in the yellow, that's a couple of inches, but like you said, you need 15 inches, not one or two to save the crops. the crops, at this point, are not saveable. >> growing up in georgia, i know what it means when it's hot and humid, but in terms of dry conditions, they are having to water their homes, grabbing the hoses. >> yes, you do. >> watering their homes. >> you water the foundations to keep the foundations wet. >> never heard of this. >> stop them from cracking. >> crazy, chad, thank you so much. quick reminder to you, do not forget. come on over here, mark abernathy. the point is, you have no excuse not to watch cnn 24/7 here. we are the first to do this, to stream cnn online. you can watch cnn, you can watch hln.

which means, obviously, if you're not in front of a tv, you're at work, you can have you have an ipod, ipad. also online. cnn.com/video. coming up next here, i'll tell you about this beautiful little girl right here. what happened to her should never happen to any child ever. in fact, this story, and others have gotten me very angry. [ dr. ling ] i need to get the results from the m.r.i. see if the blood work is ready. review ms. cooper's history. and i want to see katie before she goes home. [ male announcer ] with integrated healthcare solutions from dell, every patient file is where dr. ling needs it. now she can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork. ♪ dell. the power to do more. [ male aretiring,] are you turning 65 or new to medicare? or losing your employer's retiree health benefits? then it's time to start thinking

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now, i have to tell you about something that just makes me -- it makes me angry. i'm angry because of what happened to this little girl over my shoulder. her name is ame deal, and, well, this could have probably been prevented. ame was found dead in a box, and the day after this 10-year-old was found, her aunt said she was living -- the aunt she was living with told a tv station that a game of hide and seek may be the reason ame climbed inside this plastic storage bin. >> she was an awesome hider. let me tell you, you know, there's places that she would squeeze into that i wouldn't

think my dog could squeeze into. >> i spent last night crying most of the night. i don't break down well in front of other people, but when i'm by myself, i could lose it easy. >> that aunt and ame's grandmother are charged with abuse, ame wasn't playing hide and seek. police say she was forced into that box, a padlock placed on it, they believe, because she took a pop sickle from the fridge, a popsickle. investigators describe ame as a child who suffered from a lot of unusual punishments. forced to sleep on the shower floor after bedwetting, even punishments reportedly involving dog feces. after ame's death, some neighbors say they knew it wasn't an accident. >> we knew right away it wasn't. >> why? >> because the way they used to punish the other girl, make her walk up and down the street

barefooted and stuff. oh, yeah. >> four adults will face charges related to ame's abuse after she died. when something bad happens to a child and the adults in her life are held responsible, it should make all of us mad, but also it should make us a little bit introspective, do you act, think about this, do you act when you see something amiss at your neighborhood's house, your grocery start, parking lot? do you dismiss it? your answer could make the difference in the life of a child. four days away from a

potential default of the u.s. treasury, and at this hour, the house of representatives and the senate appear to be working at cross purposes, each working on legislation the other says it won't pass, so then the president today at the white house saying this, that the two

sides really aren't that far apart. but other observers, they are actually stepping forward and saying that as well. let's listen now to this sobering assessment, this is fareed zakaria. >> the tragedy is the damage may already have been done, for now on, every time the debt ceiling needs to be raised, the world will wonder will the united states stand by its promises, or will it break them? something that was taken for granted, the credibility of the united states is now surrounded by uncertainty. global markets have always had confidence in america, that confidence has been shaken, perhaps forever. >> perhaps forever, rick newman, chief business correspondent of u.s. newsroom world report. rick, we just heard from fareed, potentially the world questioning our credibility when we talk debt ceiling down the road. reid saying tim geithner told

him today that some businesses are already having trouble borrowing because of uncertainty now because of these interest rates. is the fall out, rick, being felt already? >> i think it is, not necessarily in the way they are talking about in washington, and, in fact, i feel that washington feels oblivious of what's going on in the real economy or business community, if you will. we got a jobs report three weeks ago that was absolutely terrible, companies basically have stopped hiring, and if you listen to what ceos are saying, they are saying we're worried about uncertainty in the economy and coming out of washington. so it's not surprising companies are not hiring anybody, because they want to know if the u.s. congress is going to send the economy into another recession or not. i mean, everybody keeps looking for these sort of like sharp signals from the financial markets, which were really not seeing yet, but i think the way this is being felt, we will see it if we really get into a

draconian situation next week, but subtler ways, harder to measure in real time, but real nonetheless. >> trying to give examples and make it more palettable for the american, saying today treasury default would be a tax on americans, trying to connect it maybe to a car loan or 401(k). do you see that, rick, as an apt analogy? >> yeah, it is an apt analogy. the difficulty here is this is -- all of these scare scenarios are hypothetical and won't happen in a tangible way until we have that terrible situation, which is suddenly the government runs out of money and can't borrow and pay its bills anymore. so you have skeptics in congress saying this is overblown, we don't think this would be that much of a big deal and are basically saying prove it to me, which is to say i want to see the markets tank. i want to see interest rates spike before i'm willing to sign off on anything, and as fareed

said, if you get to that point, the damage is already done. you can undue some of it, but not all of it, and he's right to say global markets are losing confidence in the united states and the stability of the political system in the united states, not really in the economy of the united states, but they are obviously linked. >> to your point, i'm sneaking looking at cnnmoney.com. it hasn't lost its nerve yet, we're not seeing -- here are the big numbers, we're not seeing the manifestation of big jitters yet. why not? >> i think the reason is there is still this belief that washington is going to pull out some kind of deal at the last minute, and if you go back three or four weeks ago to the smart analysts trying to predict what's likely to happen. many of them said then, look, this is going to be really ugly the next three weeks and is probably going to go to the next minute and beyond the last minute. you have to have fortitude and hang in there, and i think

there's also this back-up belief if we get to august 2nd, there will be a severe reaction to markets, so there is this assumption that one way or another something gets done in washington. >> there is that assumption. it's never been done before. here's hoping it doesn't happen. rick newman with u.s. world report. thanks so much. fingers crossed. thanks. it's hard to imagine the grief the families of september 11 victims felt on that day just about ten years ago now. perhaps, harder to imagine why a tabloid would possibly want to hack into those victims' phones that's the charge against news of the world tabloid. coming up, were their loved ones phones among the phones hacked? coming up i talk to new york fire chief, jim richs, who by the way, lost his son on 9/11.

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families of just about 3,000 people murdered on 9/11 are concerned that their loved ones may have been victimized twice. once by terrorists, and then the second time by the tabloid, now shut down by britain's phone hacking scandal. the fbi has been looking into a report the "news of the world" reporters tried to hack into voice mails of victims of 9/11. 9/11 families will be briefed

soon by attorney general eric holder and retired deputy chief jim riches will be attending that meeting. mr. riches, thank you for coming on. i know you lost your son, jim, who was also a firefighter. here's a photograph of your family. you lost him in the world trade center on 9/11. when you first heard of these initial reports of possible hacking, jim, what was your first thought? >> you know, i thought it was outrageous that anybody could possibly do this, unprofessional, unethical, families are suffering, we have to relive these painful memories, and for someone to go in and take last messages or whatever they were going to take and cause such pain so they could sell newspapers, it's horrible. we were outraged, called for an investigation by the fbi and department of justice, we are going to meet with eric holder and get the results of the investigation and let us know whose phones were hacked into

and who's going to be accountable. we have want to go to the top, otherwise this is going to continue and go on to affect other families the way we are affected. >> let's get back to the meeting, i try to talk to guests during the commercial, you said that meeting is august 24th, 3:00 p.m. 20 to 30 families, i'm hearing, may be there. what do you hope he says to you? >> well, you know, i would hope that these allegations are not true, but i mean with the widespread hacking we had in the uk, it only goes that it probably did happen here in the united states, and, you know, we want the -- actually, the facts, what happened, my son's phone hacked into, did they hack into the families phones. after 9/11 we were getting phone calls that were horrible. whether they recovered a piece of my son or the whole body. this is things we were talking about. >> people were calling you up and asking you about that or

telling you this? >> no, you would get calls from the medical examiner's office in the body was recovered. they told you what was recovered. only 100 families bodies were recovered. you got half a body, bone, piece, you were happy to get what you got. these are the things we were talking about, these are the painful memories we have to relive. for somebody to hack into a phone and get that, if these allegations are true, i think they should be punished severely. >> describe the punishment they should face if they are true. >> if they are true, well, i don't think they should be working in that field anymore, because, i mean, right now, if they get the low level guys, the owners and editors and everybody, it's going to continue, they'll do it again. for someone to do that like they did in england, go into murdered families, go into it, no place in that business for them. take them outside the business, put them in another industry, but they don't belong in the press corp. or media corp. if

they are hurting people like that. you know, we suffered nuenough, and if it calls for jail time, let them, so be it. >> has the department of justice, has the fbi, i don't know who would be -- at least kept you in the loop thus far in the investigation, and is there any indication at all that this is happening? >> we -- we haven't been kept in the loop, we called for an investigation, we called for a meeting. they granted us this meeting, we are very thankful for it, and hopefully they'll fill us in of the facts. we don't know of hacking as of now, we'll find out then, but they have been congenial with us, but right now we're waiting to get information, on the 24th hopefully we'll have more information and we'll know one way or another whether we were hacked into, and i feel we want accountability and we deserve it. >> mr. riches, you said the meeting is 3:00 p.m. on august

24th. perhaps the next day you could come on and tell me whatever it is legally you're allowed to tell me. a lot of americans want to know. jim riches, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. up next, motocross. a crash that almost killed this championship racer cannot keep him off a bike. dr. sanjay gupta has his story after the break. hey can i play with the toys ? sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two.

toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do. time now for the help desk where we get answers for your financial questions. joining me this hour, the executive editor of

cnnmoney.com. thanks for being here, guys, appreciate it. dennis in washington wrote this question, my son has ruined his credit. he's entering his junior year of college and has no credit or debt. how can he repair his credit rating right now. >> i want to know what he did to ruin his credit at 16 years old, but he has a lot of time left. this is a time again, he's young. 35% of your fico score is paying your bills on time. maybe a verizon bill or something, pay that bill on time. put your name on his own bank account. for individuals 21 years of age or older, get a secured credit card to establish history. stay away from offers, additional lines of credit. >> a lot of offers were on college campuses. >> new legislation helped a lot of that out. >> changes that. >> we still have to be very diligent in making sure we're paying our bills on times and getting our additional lines of credit in a responsible way.

she can help him do that. >> this question comes from neal in new york. i have a house i'm selling with a mortgage of with a mortgage of $130,000. i have received offers in the range of $130,000 to $135,000. can i ask my mortgage holder to take the house rather than sell it alone since closing costs make it a loss for me or do i have to go through lengthy foreclosure proceedings? >> the cost of going through foreclosure in the long-term will be much worse for this guy. a lot of people in this country are in a much worse position, being 20% underwater. so he's got to bite the bullet, take a little bit of money to the closing. that is not fun. but it is much better than being foreclosed upon. so i would say, just bite the bullet, take that check -- >> short-term pain, long-term gain, right? >> absolutely. >> thanks. great advice, guys. if you want a question you want answered, send us an e-mail anytime to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

each week here, our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta looks at ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things despite the setbacks perhaps life throws their way. and today sanjay is introducing us to a motocross racer who had to learn a new way to live his dreams. >> reporter: four-time national motocross champion doug henry's racing career has taken him to incredible heights. and devastating lows. he's been inducted into the american motorcycle association's hall of fame and won dozens of medals and trophies over the years. but look closely. you'll see this bike is modified with a bar and a strap that help him stay on. that's because four years ago, the unthinkable happened.

and he was paralyzed. >> when i hit the wall between the bike, you know, i was stuck between the bike. you know, it was the end. it was the end for me. it was all over. >> reporter: henry's love affair with racing began when he was 4. at 15, he entered his first race, had a midair collision and broke his arm. after turning pro at the age of 20, henry had another bad accident and broke his back for the first time. but he recovered. two years later, he was back on the track. there were more injuries, with over 200 serious crashes, but he always walked away. until march 4th, 2007. he lost control on a corner during practice. >> i knew it was over. i just -- everything just -- dancing. i wasn't much of a dancer, but i knew i wasn't going to be. i thought about all the things

that we couldn't do, or wouldn't be able to do together. >> reporter: it got worse. two weeks later, his wife, stacy, was diagnosed with breast cancer. but together, they got through it. henry is partially paralyzed from the waist down. but it hasn't stopped him from competing. he's modified a snowmobile and a dirt bike to race in x-game competitions designed for disabled athletes. and he's running races in his new sport. henry hopes he can motivate others, whose lives have suddenly taken a detour and help them back to doing what they love. >> i try to do as much as i can now and enjoy the day, just try to get the most out of my life. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> four days from default, still no deal. democrats, they've given in on taxes. are republicans ready to come to the table too? coming up at the top of the hour, i'll ask one, senator rob portman of ohio. don't miss that. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer.

if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common.

don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes,

which can help lower a1c. [ male announcer ] glucerna. helping people with diabetes find balance. let's go to washington now for your cnn equals politics update with my colleague, wolf blitzer. wolf, before you get to the ticker, quickly here, i have just noticed on president barack obama's twitter page, i don't know if you've seen this, but whoever it is that's tweeting for him, they're going line by line, tweeting to these different republicans with, and each and every time, at the end of the tweet, it says "hash tag,

compromise." social media trying to get compromise done on the debt deal. >> if you were listening to his speech, and i know you were, because you were tweeting earlier, @brookebcnn, that's your handle, right? >> you got it. >> if you were listening right at the very end, he said, you know what, if you agree with me, get in touch with members of congress, call their offices, e-mail them, tweet them. he really wants to put the pressure on other republicans, especially to come around and make some sort of compromise. that was one of the messages he had. he also pointed out that if you take a look objectively at what boehner is proposing in the house, what harry reid is proposing in the senate, there are some similarities. there are not all that many great differences, but one of the most serious differences that they must overcome by tuesday, if whether there's going to be a second vote next year or they're going to delay any serious debate, another vote until after the elections in november 2012.

i haven't seen a resolution of that. they're going to have to come up with some resolution of that if they're going to reach an agreement. the public at large, and you've seen this, the polls have reflected it. a new gallup poll shows that the public at large is pretty depressed about the whole thing. they're pretty irritated with the way the democrats are handling it, the republicans are handling it. they're not very happy. take a look over there, president obama's approval on how he's handling this debt crisis, only 41%. boehner's 31%. harry reid's even worse, 23%. so no one is all that happy right now with any of these leaders on how they're handling this crisis. i did have a chance to sit down earlier in the day with john huntsman, the former utah governor, the ambassador to china, who's now one of the republican presidential candidates, and he's not very happy with the way some of his republican rivals are dealing with this debt ceiling crisis. he's rather blunt in criticizing mitt romney, arguably the front-runner for the republican presidential nomination. right now he's suggesting it's time for people to stand up and

show real leadership, suggesting that mitt romney's not necessarily standing up and showing real leadership. he was also critical of michele bachmann for saying the country doesn't have to raise the debt ceiling at all. john huntsman saying, that would be a huge blunder for america's economic recovery, for the aaa rating that the u.s. government currently has. the interview, we'll run the interview in "the situation room" later today at 5:00 p.m. eastern. i think you'll be interested, brooke. >> i'll look forward to it. and one of the favorite lines from the president i heard today, he said about how we might lose that aaa system, and he said, essentially paraphrasing, our political system is not the same aaa. wolf blitzer, we'll be looking for you in an hour. thanks so much. and now top of this hour, watch this -- down to the wire. washington mired in gridlock. and the president once again calling on the people. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. >> keep the pressure on

washington and we can get past this. >> democrats caving on taxes. is there anything republicans will say yes to? i'll ask senator rob portman, republican from ohio. what happened to celina cass? it's the mystery that now involves every single person in her small new hampshire town. >> we are marshaling all resources available to us. >> and the search moving beyond borders. the heat brings out a bumper crop in texas, but not the kind they want or need. look out! we're like a dog with a bone -- or a pool with water on a very hot day. the news starts now. welcome back. thanks for staying with me. i'm brooke baldwin. and let's begin on the city with that beautiful capitol dome here over my shoulder, washington. let me fill you in again on the race to head off a political and potential default of the government. we are now four days away here from that deadline. and at this very hour, house

speaker john boehner has bent to new demands by hardline republicans. and as a result of that, the house will vote today on an altered version of boehner's debt reduction plan, you know, the original plan he couldn't quite pass yesterday. this new plan calls on both houses of congress to agree to pass this balanced budget amendment by the end of the year or shortly thereafter. now, at the same time, senate majority leader harry reid will be introducing his own plan, one he calls a compromise with a vote planned for early sunday morning. president obama saying today a compromise can be had before that tuesday deadline. he says the two sides actually aren't that far apart. and with that, joe johns, i want to go to you. it's good to see you here on this friday, to sort through all of this with me again. because, you know, from our vantage point, joe, it appears as though the house and the senate, that they're working at cross purposes. yet the phrases i'm hearing from the president this morning, he talks about common ground. help connect the dots for me. how is that so? >> you know, it does, it looks

like total warfare in washington. and they seem so far apart. but there are basic things both sides agree on. i mean, the outlines of at least part of an agreement are here. wolf blitzer talked a little bit about this. the democrats and the republicans appear to have at least agreed that there should be spending cuts and that they should be equal to the increase in the debt limit. that is something the speaker said he wanted. another thing they seem to have agreed on, basically democrats have taken off the table, is the issue of tax increases. democrats have said, well, we'd like to see some more revenue raising, but obviously the republicans aren't going to go for it, so it's off the table. the biggest problem again seems to be this business about a two-step increase. democrats say they're absolutely, positively not going for that, and they suspect that it has something to do with the president's re-election, so they're not touching it. the president said he isn't going for it either. there is this other thing that's

up in the air right now, politics on both sides, this issue of the balanced budget amendment. >> right. >> the democratic majority leader said he could see a vote on it. he actually said that today, but obviously, can't assure passage. you know it requires a two-thirds majority and it's very clear that he doesn't want that linked to, you know, this other bill that's so important before august 2nd. >> joe johns, let me throw something else at you. that is, i spoke with senator nelson, democrat, florida, just last hour. and he told me when i was asking him what this final plan would look like, he said the final plan to avert some kind of a default will likely be a mix of the boehner plan, the reid plan, and the contingency plan. so here's my question to you, how are they supposed to take all these different plans, bundle them together, get them rammed through not just the house, but the senate, by tuesday? >> well, they really need to start talking. and it doesn't look like they'll be able to do too much talking until the boehner bill is passed over on the house side. so they'll get together and try

to work something out in a room. and after that, it's just, you know, legwork. they're talking about all-nighters here, starting on sunday morning, around 1:00 in the morning, and going through debate, you know, all through that morning, if necessary, with an eye toward a vote on tuesday. so this would be continuous work on capitol hill to try to push this thing through before the august 2nd deadline, brooke. >> so it's a long weekend. that we can all rely on here, but i did read this analogy, joe, just a short time ago, that the american public and our leaders, they know full well what happened at hiroshima. we've gone to great pains to avoid some sort of nuclear disaster, nuclear war. but in this situation that we're sitting here and talking about, there's no template, there's no precedent, so do the folks we've elected grasp the reality in what could happen next week, in talking to these people? do you get that sense? >> i don't get that sense from

everybody. some of the people who were holding out as recently as last night, you talk to them, and they're not so sure that we're talking about financial armageddon or any measure of that, and they're also not so sure that august 2nd is the real deadline. they have a lot of suspicion about the way this whole thing has come up, and they're certainly suspicious of the white house. they don't think they have all the information to be able to decide when it is that the united states government would really run out of money in the event the borrowing limit shut down on august 2nd. >> joe johns, thank you so much. and i want to talk here to one of these folks we have elected. senator rob portman, republican of ohio. and senator portman, nice to see you. nice to have you on. let me just ask you a question i just posed to my colleague, joe johns there. a bit of a reality check question. i heard yesterday, i was talking to an expert from u."u.s. news world report", who essentially said to me, have you seen the jobs report? have you listened to the jobs creators?

they're saying that they're not hiring, senator, because you folks in washington have just dragged this out for months. do members of congress, do they grasp the reality of what's happening out there, outside of the beltway? >> i hope so. and brooke, it's not just about this, it's about a lot of other things that washington is doing to make it harder to create a job, including increasing the cost of hiring somebody, and this goes to our tax system and our health care cost and our energy costs and so on. so i hope washington realizes that by going into this post-demonstrate limit period, we're going to harm the economy, it's the wrong thing to do, but we also need to get busy on a pro-jobs agenda to help deal with those very issues you talked about. we just got the growth numbers today for this quarter, very disappointing. we also had an adjustment of the first quarter growth, again, very disappointing. we've got a bigger issue here. the debt limit issue needs to be resolved. it's incredibly important to deal with it, it's necessary, but it's not sufficient. we also need to be sure we're dealing with the underlying debt and deficit problem, and a lot of other problems that washington is causing to make

these difficult jobs number that you talked about possible. so we have our hands full. >> i think what's frustrating to americans, and i'm sure you've been hearing from your constituents. i hear from people, you know, all the time on twitter, essentially saying, look, we deal with deadlines day in and day out in our own lives, so do you. but why does it have to be so me messy? and let me ask you straight-up, as far as the blame, does it lie with tea party republicans? particularly those tea party republicans in the house that continue to add demands to this debt deal as we go forward? >> first of all, i agree with what joe johns said. we're actually very close, because finally, after a long period of time when the president was in denial about it, an agreement that we do have to reduce the spending. the president asked for a clean debt limit extension, as you know. many of us said it's necessary to extend, but we have to do something about the underlying problem. otherwise, we'll have some of the same negative economic consequences that are being talked about today. the downgrade of the debt and so on.

so it took a while for the president to come around to having any cuts. and then the president proposed something, as you know, and there was a lot of back and forth with speaker boehner on this, that included tax increases. as recently as monday night, the president told us it had to have tax increases. one reason we're here at the very end, there have been legitimate differences of opinions -- >> but in terms of those differences of opinion -- with all due respect, forgive me for interrupting you -- but the tea party republicans, are they to blame for going to this late hour? >> they are the people who believe, as i do, that we should not be increasing taxes on a very weak economy. the numbers today, unfortunately, make it clear that this economy is even weaker than we thought. they also believe there has to be real and credible spending cuts as a part of this. and i think we're inching toward that now. but to be honest, there has been a huge difference of opinion between the president and most democrats and the republicans on this issue. tea party republicans self-described, as well as conservative republicans, what make up the vast majority of our party.

so these are legitimate differences that need to be worked out. by the same token, we need to work them out. >> are we going to get it worked out, senator? are we going to get it worked out by tuesday? >> i would agree with what joe said, with a little difference of opinion on what some of the specifics need to be, but we're very close. we've agreed to three things. number one, to extend the debt limit, we need to have substantial, credible cuts in spending. those cuts in spending have to be the same as the debt ceiling increase. and finally, there will not be any tax increases. so i think we are now on the same page, and it's a question of working it out. and as joe said, you know, it takes a while here in the united states congress just to get something done. there's some legwork involved. but i think we're on track now to complete it before the tuesday deadline. >> with regard, though, to some of those sticking points, i know one of them with regard to the democrats, that they wanted to dispense with this issue until next election. they don't want this two-vote process that the n's in the boe bill, and republicans want to

take up this whole mess again. why does a country -- do we want to go through this again before the year is even over? >> the most important thing, again, is that we have real cuts, and that the cuts are the same as the debt limit increase. and if democrats were willing to agree to real cuts, meaningful cuts that took longer than six months or eight months, whatever's being talked about now, that'd be fine. but that's not the case. so there needs to be a two-stage process in order to have a second process -- this is the committee that's been talked about -- to look at some of these longer-term fiscal problems, including the entitlement issue. that's really what's on the table here. it's not that republicans are insisting that there be a two-stage process just because they don't want to see it extended longer, they're insisting on it because we believe that there need to be real cuts. $1 in cuts for every $1 extension in the debt limit. and to do that, we've got to go through this second process of this joint committee, which would come to congress with an up or down vote on things like tax reform, entitlement reform, budget reform to really make the changes we need.

so we'll see what happens. i think there are two alternatives at this point. one is the two-stage process that's being talked about. the other would be with to extend it longer, but with real cuts and credible cuts that the congressional budget office tells us truly mean that we're getting our spending under control. >> senator rob portman of ohio, we will all wait to see what this final amalgamation of a plan will be. and hopefully you will get this done by tuesday. thank you so much, sir. >> thank you, brooke. thanks for having me on. straight ahead, this 11-year-old girl's disappearance has now turned a new hampshire town frantic. her parents say the last time they saw her, she was in her bedroom. the next morning, she's gone. now the search for celina cass is crossing borders and investigators are pulling out all stops. that is next. plus, you remember this moment here? here you go. the pie in the face of rupert murdoch at last week's phone-hacking hearing. well, the funny guy who threw the pie, not laughing today in court, but apparently he is still cracking jokes. well-being. we're all striving for it.

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unlike fish oil, megared softgels are small and easy to swallow with no fishy smell or aftertaste. try megared today. a frantic family, a worried new hampshire town, and this desperate search for a missing 11-year-old girl. more than 100 investigators are combing right now west stewartson for celina cass. the little girl's home is less than two miles from the canadian border. now the royal canadian mounted police are out searching for any clues for her as well. cass last seen monday night right before she went to bed. the next morning, she was gone. the fbi says there's no indication that any anyone took her, no signs of a struggle, no signs of a break-in. the little girl with this smile here, the gap-toothed smile, is described as timid, not someone who would just go off on her own. >> celina is missed very much. we miss and we love celina.

we miss her smile and we want her home. celina, we want you to know that the entire community, your friends, your family are doing everything possible to bring you home where you belong. thank you. >> joining me by phone, jane young, senior assistant attorney general of new hampshire. and jane, before i ask you these questions, just first, is there any news? any news on her disappearance? >> the news that we have is this investigation remains ongoing. the police are still out canvassing neighborhoods. they are looking in fields. we have been joined by additional services from today as far away as connecticut and the fbi continue to man computers, phones. again, we continue to look at all facets of this case. >> i understand, jane, that police, they're talking to every single person in this town? how many people is that? >> well, this is a town of a little less than 900 people and the police are going to every home, speaking with every

individual, seeking consent to search every house, every barn, every garage, every outbuilding, tents, pools, it's an intensive search. >> that's amazing. every single person. and in terms of techniques, what kind of techniques are we looking at a helicopter here? i know they're going by air, by land, by water looking for her, correct? >> that is correct. >> has she ever -- has celina ever wandered off before? >> you know, the information that we have is that this is not typical of her, but we certainly haven't ruled anything out as far as her disappearance at this point. >> and so the last time her parents saw her, it was the night -- it was in the evening and she was on her computer, is that right? nothing's different about that. >> the investigation reveals at this point that it was monday evening she was last seen in her home, with correct. >> okay. i know her family issued a statement through her spokeswoman, but her mother, her stepfather, her sister, they

have not said a thing publicly. why is that? >> i think anytime that a child is missing, you know, this is devastating for a family. they are, you know, they are relying on the police, they have been cooperative with the police in our search to find this child. i think anybody who has a child out there can understand why they may not be in the media spotlight at this time. >> i understand that, but i've also heard that it is very helpful for parents to come out with a plea. i mean, perhaps their daughter is listening. though at the same time, i imagine it is -- it's something i can't even imagine, being the parent of a missing child. but i do know that at least 150 tips have poured in. can you at all tell us about any of these tips, or at least if they're proving to be at all helpful in finding her? >> the number of tips being 150, approximately, that was yesterday's number. we have gotten even more today. they are being sorted as far as priority, what we think that we need to get to immediately, down to those that, you know, maybe we can wait until a couple of

hours. we have an analyst looking at the tips, to see if there's any reoccurring theme or pattern to the information that we're getting to. so we are following up on everything, and until we find her, we will not know which tip was the tip that brought us to her and hopefully will bring her home. >> jane, final question, i know in cases like this, time is of the essence. what is priority and concern number one? >> priority number one is to continue this search. you know, concern is, you know, typically, we have concerns of weather. luckily, it's still summer here in i know, so the weather's pretty good. and the priority has been and will continue to be to find celina and to bring her home safely. >> jane young, thank you very much. quickly, the number, if you have any information, 603-846-3333. jane young, thank you very much. >> thank you. now, if it's interesting and happening right now, you're

about to see it, rapid fire. it pays to sell ithings. apple's latest earnings report shows it has $72.6 billion in cash and securities at the end of last month. that's more cash on hand than uncle sam right now. apple stock lingers at about 400 bucks a share. and the woman who fled libya after accusing moammar gadhafi's forces of gang-raping is now in the united states. she landed in new york on wednesday and then boarded a flight to denver where she'll live at least for now. she spent the past 54 days at a u.n. refugee facility in romania. she says she is excited to be in the u.s., but is not quite ready to talk to members of the media. who could forget this spectacle from last week's phone-hacking hearing? there you go, bottom left-hand side of your corner, this guy comes out of nowhere to attack the news corp. mogul, rupert murdoch, a foam pie. well, today, 26-year-old comedian jonathan may bowles

pleaded guilty to assault and other charges. sentencing is set for tuesday. on his way out of court, may-bowles echoed murdoch quipping, "this has been the most humble day of my life." a fisherman off the coast of cape cod jump odd an shark from his boat. eric jacobs claims he rode the animal, and there he goes, for about 15 feet as his best friend filmed this whole stunt. it was a basking shark, if you're familiar. the second largest fish in the sea. it's a protected species, so wildlife officials none too thrilled about this stunt here, but jacobson says he would do it all over again. not i. coming up next, how norway today is honoring the 77 victims slaughtered this time last week by a madman. also this -- >> she called us, and then she said, mom, don't panic, there's a man shooting here. >> this is the woman whose daughter texted her, two hours of texting off and on from this

youth camp as bullets rang out. you had such a strong response to this interview this week, we'll replay just a portion of it for you next. ♪ ♪ ♪ look at that car, well, it goes fast ♪ ♪ givin' my dad a heart attack ♪ [ friend ] that is so awesome. ♪ i love my car [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] that first chevy, yea, it gets under your skin. ♪

the suspect in norway's twin terror attacks was hauled out of solitary confinement at a norwegian prison today for a second round of interrogation. oslo police wrapped up today's session with anders breivik just a little over an hour ago. and police say they have gathered a lot of new evidence since first talking to him on saturday. also in oslo, arms held roses high in honor to the mourners to the victims of last week's

shooting. it was organized by the youth movement of oslo's labor party. the first funerals for victims of the terror attacks were held today. there were two. ismail ahmed, 19 years of age, and then there was the funeral for young bana rasheed, this is from senior international correspondent, nic robertson. >> so many people have come to bana rasheed's funeral, they're overflowing from the church, a multicultural event, with an 18-year-old girl whose friends described as an aspiring politician, a sunbeam, someone they expected to do well in politics here. someone who had gone to the camp with her sister. her sister, we're told by friends, survived. but today so many people here gathering to remember her, her parents arriving in tears. >> most of the victims from last

friday's terror attack were shot to death right there on that remote island, it's called utoya island. hundreds of young people were attending this youth political camp, including 16-year-old julie bremnisz. and like so many teenagers, julie had her cell phone. and after seeing the gunman last friday, she was able to quickly grab it, call her mother, who was 800 miles away. mom and daughter stayed in contact by text messages for two hours off and on through from horrifying ordeal. in fact, i talked to julie's mother, marian, about those harrowing exchanges of text messages. listen. >> she called us and then she said, mom, don't panic, there's a man shooting here. so i didn't know what to believe, because i thought there was some sort of game or something. so i didn't realize at first how serious this was. the news were so occupied by the bomb explosion in oslo, so the news didn't know anything about

this at that time. but when the first text message came, then i realized, this was for real. >> how close was your daughter to breivik? >> she says that he was about approximately 50 to 100 meters away from them. he was coming down, they were together as a group from this region, and they had to have the meeting because of the bomb explosion in oslo and he was coming, walking down the road on the island. he was a -- they thought it was a policeman coming to inform them about the bomb explosion. but then they suddenly saw that he turned around and shot someone on the road, and then they panicked and they ran away. in every directions. she ran down to the shore and

she hide under a overhang, behind some rocks. >> as you're getting these text messages the and you're trying to comprehend what she's going through, how helpless did you feel? >> as helpless as everything, pause i didn't know what -- really what to do, other than text her. that was the only way i could help her and that was the only way to understand that she was alive. >> i want to point out just one specific text. your daughter, julie, texted, "mom and dad, i love you, even though i'm cross with you sometimes." why did that really strike a nerve? why did you know then that she was seriously in trouble? >> because she doesn't normally write that in her texts to us. so when she wrote that, i knew she was really, really

terrified. and then i almost started to cry, because i really felt helpless and really felt despaired. i didn't know what to do. >> what a story, isn't it? you can watch that entire interview when i spoke with miss bremnes, just go to cnn.com/brooke. the warfare in washington over the nation's debt, it is now hitting the airwaves. jim acosta standing by with your political ticker. he'll explain coming up. [ male announcer ] get ready for the left lane. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models, including the cc. and every volkswagen includes scheduled carefree maintenance. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the volkswagen cc sport for just $289 a month.

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and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. let's get your cnn equals politics update. let's go to my colleague, jim acosta, with the latest news fresh off the ticker. jim, let me guess. we're going to talk debt ceiling mess? >> reporter: that's right, brooke, i know. it feels like groundhog day. but one thing that -- and speaking of something that you hear over and over again, and brooke, i think you're picking up on this as well, i am amazed by how many people who have been in this town for a long time,

how many of those folks will come up to you these days and say, i have never seen anything like this before. and that goes for dnc chairwoman, debbie wasserman schultz. i talked to her earlier today about the debt ceiling crisis and this impasse up on capitol hill. and of course, she blames the republicans for this stalemate, saying that they won't come to the table, but she also said that she's never seen anything like this before. and you do get a growing sense that even the institutional leaders, the folks who have been around this town for a while are worried about outcome of this crisis. here's a little bit of what the chairwoman, who's also a florida congresswoman, very key in all the talks going on up on the hill, this is what she told me earlier this afternoon. >> the ball is in the republicans' court here. we've been sitting at the compromise table for a long time and there is a cold chair across from us that they need to come warm up so we can get this job done. >> reporter: so there you go. a cold chair that needs to be warmed up. that is one of the messages

coming from the democratic party these days. debbie wasserman schultz again said that she believes that the tea party element of the republican party is really driving the country off the cliff and her characterization in this debt ceiling crisis. and speaking of some of the partisan rhetoric that is flying up here, it's not just coming from democrats towards republicans, tea party groups are starting to put together ads that they are going to be running in battleground states over the coming weeks. americans for prosperity, that is a group that is funded by the koch brothers. you've probably heard of them before, brooke. >> yep. >> reporter: this is an ad that americans for prosperity is putting out, using then-senator obama's words against him in this commercial that they're running in a couple of battleground states. take a look. >> obama said, quote, raising america's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. but now president obama says -- >> we have to extend this debt

ceiling through the next election. >> why? under obama, the national debt is up 35%, unemployment is up 18%, and while reckless spending hurts our economy, the president wants $2 trillion in new debt to get -- >> through the next election. >> president obama put america's needs ahead of partisan politics. >> reporter: so, brooke, this crisis here in washington is at least good for the admakers, just not so sure if it's good for the rest of us. >> jim, i just have to say quickly, i say kudos to our viewers, because they are engaged. we were talking to some of the good folks at cnn.com earlier, and people want details. obviously, this directly affects them. but they want to know, what's in the bill, how does this affect me, and when is this getting done? and i say kudos to them. jim acosta, thank you so much. >> you bet. coming up, we're going to take you to texas. the lone star state starving for rain, but there is some hope on the horizon in the form of this. there he is, this tropical storm, this is tropical storm don just off mexico and texas

there. chad myers keeping a close on this. we'll check in with him next. plus this -- >> if you come in here and do something that's kind of out of the ordinary, i'm going to key on that. and that's pretty much what i the did with this kid. >> this kid is this guy, an awol muslim american soldier, and what he did and wanted to do, it's frightening. we're learning more about how his sordid plans to kill his fellow troops. stay here. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car

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the debt debate, as you know, rages on in washington, another ft. hood suspect is in court today, and drought-weary texas hoping for rain. time to play reporter roulette. brianna keilar, i want to begin with you at the white house. in the past two hours, i talked to two senators. talked to a democrat, talked to a republican. i know that the house vote is expected, maybe 6:00, maybe 7:00 tonight. what's happening there where you are at the white house?

>> reporter: here at the white house, brooke, it is very much the waiting game. all eyes on capitol hill as the house prepares for this vote. and yes, you said it, could be as soon as in two hours, but we certainly don't bet on it, considering the delay we saw yesterday. and president obama spoke this morning, because he has said this this boehner plan that will be voted on in the house is dead on arrival. he really said today, he's looking toward senate democrats and republicans to come up and take the lead and work out some sort of a compromise. but the fact is, brooke, time is really running out here. cause once the senateoes introduce something, they still require 30 hours of debate before they can have a vote. the bottom line, here, the end game is very unclear. the clock is ticking. even as the white house still says it's confident that congress will act to increase the debt ceiling. >> you know, listening to the president this morning there at the white house, he once again called on americans, pick up the phone, call your members of congress, tweet. and now the president, here, i'm looking over @barackobama,

twitter handle, they're tweeting too. what are they tweeting about? >> reporter: i saw you were looking at twitter on this. the president, or his staff, they're actually putting out the twitter handles of they say all house republicans, i guess all house republicans that are on twitter. we saw the president on monday. he essentially said to members of the public, really his supporters, contact your members of congress. we saw websites on capitol hill crash. he saw offices were inundated with e-mails and with phone calls. this is really the same sort of thing as the president recasts his role, since he's not really at the negotiating table with democrats and republicans on the hill in a really formal setting, brooke. >> okay, brianna. >> reporter: and i should mention, the white house conservative group urged its members to do the same thing, and i know the white house has seen definitely an uptick in the phone calls they're getting. >> interesting. people are calling and tweeting. either way they feel, they're pertu perturbed.

thanks so much. next, let's go to texas on reporter roulette, let's go to ed lavendera. ed, we'll call it strange, i think you called it bizarre behavior by the alleged army suspect arrested near ft. hood, texas. i'll ask about that behavior in a moment. but what is naser abdo charged with? >> reporter: so far he's been charged with one federal count of possessing an illegal destructive device. that carries with it a potential ten-year prison sentence. that was only one charge. we asked some federal officials here in texas today if other charges could be pending, and we were told that would be a safe assumption to make. >> okay, ed lavendera, bizarre behavior. bizarre how? >> reporter: this was an initial appearance, supposed to be very routine, to go over some basic housekeeping legal items, but abdo was walked into the courtroom, he was shackled, in a solid white jumpsuit. he was shackled around the arms and waist and his sheet and he

was reading a piece of paper before everything got started. and when it was time for the judge to walk in, everyone's supposed to stand up, he refused, two u.s. marshals came over and said, stand up, stand uh, he refused, and they yanked him up by the arms. and as abdo was being walked out, he started talking about a 14-year-old iraqi girl that was raped and murdered by u.s. soldiers back in 2006 and he also mentioned major nidal hasan's name, which obviously is a very controversial name here. hasan is the man accused of gunning down 13 soldiers at ft. hood two years ago. so it was almost like this little message of solidarity that abdo had been sharing with these two fellow muslims. so it was a strange scene there in the courtroom, indeed. >> yeah. unreal. ed lavendera in waco. eddie, thanks. and last but not least on this friday of reporter roulettroule

chad myers here in the weather center. tracking don. where's don headed? >> right along my favorite beach in the world, and you can include all the caribbean beaches as well, because this is best. but don't tell everybody, because i don't want to get it really full of people. >> san pedro beach. >> right along the shore here in florida and texas, this is the texas coast, it will be coming right on shore. it will be run storm for the rain-making books, but other than that, not a very large storm in size, not a very big storm, north to south or east to west, and probably just a couple of inches of rainfall in any one spot. this is not going to be a big deal. this will not be a flood-maker. it will get some rain for souths of south texas and northern mexico, would like to cover up the entire state for a couple of days, that doesn't work, not with this small system. but there are more storms out there. and remember this, this time next week, monday or tuesday, we'll be talking about emily. could be a big one out there in the atlantic. >> we're moving on to the es,

chad myers, thank you so much. we told you yesterday about the polygamous leader warren jeffs, remember his new defense, the fact that he basically fired all his lawyers, says he's going to defend himself. we are also now learning just exactly how he's done that. and folks, speaking of bizarre behavior, this one goes in that category as well. cnn's gary tuchman watching it all unfold for us in texas. we'll check in with gary coming up next. medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans...

exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up.

call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. the child sex assault trial of polygamous leader warren jeffs is quickly becoming the newest courtroom circus, and we

sent national correspondent gary tuchman to cover this. he's been inside this courthouse in san angelo, texas, with all day. and gary, what a story here. you have jeffs, he's acting all on his own, as his own lawyer. yesterday, didn't say a word, right, when it was his turn to give his opening statement. today he pulls a 180, and i think i heard you say, this is the most bizarre scenario in a courtroom you've ever seen. >> reporter: it really is, brooke. i look at the 12 members of this jury, they don't know what hit them. it's weird. if you've ever served on a jury or watch withed a court show, you know the two sides are supposed to battle each other, and yesterday warren jeffs just sat there, staring straight ahead. he not only didn't talk, he didn't look at anybody. today he's objecting and making speeches. he made an objection to evidence he thought was sacred. and usually when you make an objection, you talk for a few seconds and the judge makes a decision on that. he talked for 60 minutes. the judge later explained he gave him a chance to talk because he didn't make opening statements yesterday. but today, a short time ago, warren jeffs, who says he's a

prophet, says he had a revelation. and the jury was with out at this time. but he read a note that he didn't necessarily say he wrote, but he said god told him, he said, i the lord god of heaven ask the courts to cease the prosecution of my holy way. there will be a judgment against all who prosecute the church. i shall let all people know of your unjust ways. i will bring sickness and death. well, the judge was offended and she told warren jeffs, if you call for the jury's destruction, you'll be removed from the courtroom, and he said, i'm not calling for the jury's destruction, i'm releasing a message. but he's objecting and interrupting people. if she kicks him out of the court, that's what he wants. he wants this trial to be stopped and delays, and she wants it to keep going on. >> so you said 60 minutes, 6-0 is how long he talked. do you have any idea, gary, if he really is on acting on his own, if he is representing himself, or is he getting any

kind of advice from any actual attorney? >> reporter: one of -- he had seven attorneys yesterday. he fired all seven of them. the judge ordered that one remain to act as someone who could give him advice. so there's one with attorney who's sitting back where we are in the spectator area, offering him advice if he needs it. but he does not want that lawyer to participate in his trial. he's there to offer him advice, but warren jeffs is doing it all himself, but he's doing it all wrong, he's going to lose this case very badly, and he's really angering this jury who wants to perform their civic duty, and he's seeing this man who disrupts and being very disrespectful. >> i'll let you go in a moment -- >> reporter: i wasn't inferring that we need to leave -- >> it's okay, gary tuchman, the news is happening elsewhere. although let me just quickly ask, given what he's charged with and maybe he does lose, what kind of prison time could he face? >> reporter: that's why this is a serious case. this would be funny if it wasn't such a serious case.

but he faces the possibility on these two sexual assault charges, one with a 12-year-old girl, one with a 15-year-old girl, the possibility of 119 years in prison. >> okay, gary tuchman, i'll let you go. thank you so much. coming up here, we have some video you have to see, which happens when it's just too doggone hot outside.

"the situation room" with wolf blitzer coming up in a matter of minutes. wolf blitzer, i know you're talking debt. let me just ask you who you're talking debt to? >> well, we've got john huntsman, the republican presidential candidate. plus rand paul will be joining us, a conservative republican from kentucky. he's obviously very concerned about what's going on. sherrod brown, the democrat,

he's a liberal, from ohio. he's going to be joining us as well. the action once the house takes the vote and we expect that within the next hour or two, but having said that, i said that exactly this time yesterday, but let's see what happens today, if the house votes in the next hour or two, the action will then shift to the senate. and they're going to have a huge debate in the senate. they've got to get something going over there. this clock is ticking. we only have a few more days left. and it's going to be a long, long weekend. we're going to be working all weekend, watching what's going on. we'll be live in "the situation room" tomorrow night, by the way, 6:00 p.m. eastern. live sunday night, i'll be co-anchoring a special sunday night from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. eastern. we're watching everything. sunday night, by the way, we'll be watching because the -- we'll be watching very, very closely. they could be working all night tonight. tweeted a little while ago, brooke, i don't know if you saw my tweet. i tweeted, "attention all capitol hill lawmakers and staffers -- get your cots ready, bring them out of the warehouse, bring them out of the closets over there. get your cots ready because

you'll be working all-night." there are all-nighters probably saturday night, sunday night, maybe monday night as well. this could go down to the wire. let's hope for the best. it's a big, big, big story. >> huge deal. we'll see you in a couple of minutes. and i'll most definitely be watching, 9:00 p.m. sunday night, mr. blitzer, have a wonderful weekend working. thank you. also, news flash, it's friday! the end of a long, hot workweek. and what better way to wind down by the pool. you've got to this, and you've got to see something else. starting today, and each and every friday here, i'll answer your questions. we're turning the tables a bit. give you a sneak peek of something we're coming up calling the week wind-down. p. here's my ipod, i was at a concert last night and so many of you have gotten into our idea of doing a music monday. here's a quick hint for monday. she's born in chicago, you know her as a rhythm and blues singer, gospel, but she also was proposed to by bob dylan. hmm. music monday, see you at 3:00.

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just don't feel like they used to. are you one of them? remember when you had more energy for 18 holes with your buddies. more passion for the one ya love. more fun with your family and friends. it could be a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. come on, stop living in the shadows. you've got a life to live. [ male announcer ] so don't blame it on aging. talk to your doctor and go to isitlowt.com to find out more. you know, this has been a really huge "newsweek." we've been talking serious stuff with the debt. it's a serious crisis. wolf will talk about it in two minutes from now. but if i may, we all need a little smile here, so here's this. forget toto and rin tin tin. there's a new pooch on the canine acting scene with skills that could give lassie a run for

her money. this is rosie and when her little buddy there playfully nips at her neck, the playful pooch couldn't resist a chance to make him sweat a little. watch rosie play dead. guess it just gives new meaning to playing dead when it's self-imposed on the ground. hopefully she gets mad treats for that. my pug would. next to this one, and this is, i think, my favorite video of the day. look, we're not the only ones feeling the heat from the soaring temperatures across the country. this is gus, gus has a buddy as well, and when it gets a little too hot for gus, see what gus is doing, taking the kiddie pool, taking matters into his own mouth and decides to get inside the house, nice, cool air-conditioning with the pool. i don't know so much if he's going to share the pool with the friend bulldog, but, gus eventually does get it. can we get there? does he get the pool inside? i think he finally does. pawing at it. come on, pool, we're going to get there. let's all watch. come on, gus. come on, gus.